The Path to Un-Lamplike Feelings
by MinDanFan
Summary: This is a series of connected one-shots. Basically, each "chapter" is connected to all others, they are chronological in order, and the same general storyline weaves throughout them, but random amounts of time will lapse and other events will occur between them. I'm not entirely sure that makes sense, but hopefully it works! Given the title, you can guess the premise…
1. Back From Haiti

Well, here she was on a plane, a mere 47 days after leaving New York for her intended year in Haiti. Shortly after they arrived in Haiti, she had known that she had made a huge mistake. Casey was an amazing man, which is why she tried so hard to convince herself that what they had was real, but deep-down she knew that he wasn't the right person for her. She stuck it out for weeks, partially for her many new patients, but mostly to avoid the absolute humiliation she anticipated feeling upon her return. Ultimately though, Casey had been the one to convince her to leave the country. They had stopped sharing a tent after a few days there, but he could still see how miserable she was. He was finally able to convince her to leave when two other OB/GYN physicians arrived as volunteers.

She sighed as she disembarked the plane at JFK after a long flight. It was close to midnight, she was tired, and she felt disgusting. All she wanted was a good meal and a hot shower. Standing by the baggage claim turnstile, waiting for her bags, she turned on her cell phone after 6 weeks of no cell service and found she had 14 voicemails and 67 text messages. The most recent one was from Gwen and came earlier that evening. It said that Gwen wouldn't be able to pick her up at the airport as they arranged due to Riley being sick, but she sent a solid replacement. She sent a quick text back to find out who she should expect and Gwen responded that Danny had promised he would be waiting for her in baggage claim. Mindy's stomach dropped as she read the words. Of all people, he was the one she anticipated feeling most embarrassed around her inability to stick it out in Haiti. If she were honest with herself, she had thought every night in Haiti about their moment in the doctor's lounge, but had ultimately persuaded herself that there really was no moment between them. She was certain that Danny was just cleaning her glasses and her belief that he would've leaned in to kiss her had she not told him that she was back together with Casey had just been a subconscious effort to give her a reason to not go to Haiti.

Despite the embarrassment, her immediate reaction when she turned and saw him making his way through the crowd to meet her was to run over and fling herself into his arms. He was clearly surprised but responded to the hug with a tight squeeze. She finally released him, though felt a bit bashful given that the hug lasted longer than necessary for the situation.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I am just so glad to be home and see a familiar face.

"Not a problem. I'm glad you're back."

He said nothing about the obviously shortened nature of her trip, which surprised Mindy a bit. Once her bags came, he insisted on carrying both of them to his car. Then, he opened the car door for her. It was moments like these that reminded Mindy that at the end of the day, despite his cynicism, Danny Castellano was one of the good ones.

"Danny, you are seriously a lifesaver. I am so exhausted. I just can't wait to eat and shower."

"Are you hungry?"

"Honestly, I'm starving and there's obviously nothing in my fridge."

"Do you even have somewhere to go tonight? I thought you had planned to sublet your place."

"That was the plan but I never got around to it. I guess that was probably a sign that I was never really planning to be in Haiti all that long. I appreciate you not rubbing it in, by the way."

"Hey, you tried it out. Some decisions don't work out."

"Yea, but I knew the second I got there. Even Casey knew that it was over. It was probably written on my face."

"Oh, so it isn't just Haiti then. Things are over with Jesus Christ Superstar?"

"Yea, it just wasn't right, you know? I really wanted it to be right, but it wasn't."

"Well, I'm glad you have a place. If not, I would have let you crash at my place."

"Don't you think you would have to run that by Christina?"

Danny cleared his throat awkwardly. "There is no Christina. We ended things two weeks after you left. Just wasn't right, you know?"

They locked eyes for a brief but intense moment, both understanding exactly what the other person meant about things not being right with someone.

A car horn blared and startled them. The light they had stopped at had turned green.

"So, should we grab something to eat?"

"Sure. Just don't take me to your pizza place again. Worst pizza in New York."

"OK, I'll bring you to my worst Chinese food place instead."

"Hilarious. Really, you are."

"I know. Come on, admit it, you missed me."

"I actually did, Danny. I did miss you."

"I missed you too, Min."


	2. One Fine Night

***I had hoped for more reviews on the first part, but maybe this quick upload will garner some more positive feedback!***

Danny sighed with comfort as he settled onto his couch. He had a long day at the office and then worked-out at the gym, so he was glad to finally be able to put up his feet and watch a little late-night TV before bed. Everyone else in the office had decided to meet up for a movie after work, but he needed some time alone. He had actually become more comfortable with the fact that his work colleagues had become his friends, but sometimes he had to take a break. He blamed all of his new work friendships on Mindy. She managed to crack that shell he carefully constructed around himself to keep the line between personal and professional lives separate. He hadn't lied when he told her that he never asked to be friends, though it was a jackass statement to make. Yet, she still had managed to worm her way in and he noticed the absence in the 6 weeks that she was gone. In just the few short weeks she had been back, she had managed to once again become an important part of his life. He may have not asked for the friendship, but he probably needed it. There is no way he would admit that to her of course.

As if knowing he was thinking about her, her face and name suddenly appeared on his cell phone. He smiled because she had obviously put this picture of her on his phone when he wasn't looking. He had another picture of her but she saw it one day and insisted that it did not capture her best look. He refused to hand over his phone for her take another one, but it seems she managed to get it anyway.

"Hey, Mindy. What's up?"

"Hi, Danny. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I'm just watching some TV before bed."

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. I just thought I'd call to say hi."

"At midnight?"

"Oh, yea. Well, you know me, just hanging out…"

"You sound weird. What's wrong?"

"Oh I'm fine. I'm totally fine. "

"Mindy," Danny sighed.

"I can't sleep. You were right. That movie totally freaked me out."

"I told you, Min. You don't even like scary movies so why did you go?"

"I know, I know. I just didn't have anything else to do tonight and I didn't feel like being alone. Of course, now I'm alone anyway."

Danny took a deep breath. "OK, hold on. I'm coming over."

"You don't need to do that," Mindy began to protest.

"It's fine. I'm just putting on my shoes and grabbing my keys. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"No, really, that's really not necessary."

"Mindy, relax, it's not a problem. I'm on my way," Danny said as he swung his front door open to see Mindy standing before him in a tanktop and pink flannel pajamas pants.

"Hi," she said bashfully.

"I see now why there's no need for me to come over," Danny responded with a smile while leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms.

"For the record, I wasn't going to wake you if were sleeping. I just couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and when a cabbie pulled over to see if I needed a ride, this was the first address that popped into my mind."

"Well come on in," Danny said while gesturing into the apartment and taking her elbow to lead her in. It was the first time Mindy had ever been in his apartment with it being just the two of them. She had obviously seen it before, but it was always with other people there.

Danny cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. "So, do you want to watch some TV?"

"Sure! I think _Love Actually_ is coming on in 10 minutes!"

"Oh, good. I was dying to see that movie."

"Really?"

"No, Mindy. That would be sarcasm."

"Oh, well it's your place, so if you really don't want to watch it, then I suppose I could let you pick your favorite city of Housewives. You know one of them must be on now."

'How generous of you," Danny responded.

"I'm kidding. Here," Mindy said handing over the remote.

Danny plopped next to her and flipped through the guide until he finally found what he was looking for, to which Mindy clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

"Danny! You big softie. Trust me; you are going to love this movie. My favorite storyline is Jamie and Aurelia. It is so romantic!"

"OK, sure. Just wake me when it's over." Danny responded, leaning back into a comfortable position and closing his eyes.

"Danny! You're no good to me if you're asleep when the zombies attack me," Mindy said while smacking him with a pillow.

"Watch it, Lahiri."

"Pleeeease, Danny."

"OK, fine, I'll do my best to stay awake and protect you from fictional undead creatures."

"Awesome, thanks!"

He did manage to keep his eyes open and found that he didn't actually hate the movie. There was enough happening to keep him interested, even if it was cheesy. He was also kind of amused at the sighs and related sounds Mindy made during romantic scenes in the movie. Meanwhile after some of her favorite movie scenes had passed, Mindy turned her attention to monitoring whether Danny was reacting to the movie appropriately.

"Mindy," Danny said in a warning tone, though without looking at her. "Why do you keep looking at me?"

"I'm just watching you watch the movie."

"That's a little creepy," Danny responded turning to face her.

"No it's not. When I've seen a movie a few times, I already know how I'm reacting to it so I like to see what the other person thinks. In this situation, that's you. Plus, you pretend to be such a tough guy from Staten but I have a feeling that deep-down you could like this romantic crap, as you so eloquently put it once."

"I don't know about that, but I guess this movie isn't completely awful. And I wasn't expecting the nudity, so there's a plus."

"Danny! You're such a pervert," she said, with Danny just giving a quick wink in response.

They settled back into silence to continue watching the movie, both of them eventually succumbing to sleep. Mindy awoke in the middle of the night due to an uncomfortable crick in her neck. She got up to go to the bathroom and upon her return, turned off the television lightly blaring in the background. She noticed Danny sleeping in a sitting position, his chin tucked into his chest and his arm draped across the back of the couch. She chuckled because it reminded her of one of her favorite movies, One Fine Day, when George Clooney falls asleep on the couch waiting for Michelle Pfeiffer to get ready. In her sleepy state, she contemplated her options. She wouldn't feel right sleeping in Danny's bed without his permission and she definitely wasn't up to heading home now. So, she decided to settle back onto the couch but this time cuddled into Danny's side using his stomach as a pillow. She was cold, he was comfortable to sleep against, and sometimes platonic friends cuddle, right?


	3. Run, Mindy, Run

**Wow, this is becoming like a daily update! Don't get used to this, people! Thanks for your reviews.**

From her spot on the ground, Mindy shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight practically causing her to go blind. She was lying on the ground in Central Park, out of breath with sweat dripping down her face.

"This was a terrible idea, Danny. Seriously, there is no reason for this. Remember last time? Do you want me to puke again?"

Danny was jogging in place next to her trying to keep his heart rate up. "We've only gone like 2 miles, Mindy. I know you can run at least another one."

"No, I can't. Leave me behind to die in this beautiful place. They can bury me here too, so it's a short commute to my funeral."

"A little bit dramatic, aren't we?"

"No, _we_ are not dramatic. I was fine with this whole exercise regimen when it was about wearing cute clothes and casually jogging in nature, but I didn't think you would actually make me run for real."

"You'll thank me later, I promise. Come on, just another mile."

She glared at him but took his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull her up to standing again. "Fine, but I'm using the bathroom first."

A few minutes later, after Mindy spent a few minutes in the bathroom catching her breath before having to run another mile, she walked out of the bathroom to the sight of Danny and another guy fighting each other. And it looked like Danny definitely had the upper hand.

"Danny," she exclaimed, causing him to look away and the other guy landed a solid punch near his right eye.

Luckily the other guy's friend intervened. "OK, stop it, man. Let's get out of here. You always do this!" He managed to convince him to walk away before this turned too ugly.

Mindy rushed over to Danny's side. "What the hell, dude? I was only gone for like a minute."

"It's nothing. He just said something I didn't like," Danny responded while walking away from her.

"Said something you didn't like? People say things you don't like every-other-minute, but you typically don't get into fist fights."

"Fine," he yelled turning back around. "It was about you, okay?"

"What about me?"

"The jerk commented on your, um, posterior."

"My posterior. What on earth does that mean? Oh, did he insult my butt?" she asked craning her head to look at it. She had thought it looked pretty good in these pants.

"No, but he was quite graphic in what he wanted to do with it."

"Oh. Ew."

"Yea, so I let him know that what he said was offensive and he loudly disagreed and then he pushed me and I pushed back and he threw a punch and you saw the rest."

"Oh, wow, that's crazy."

"Well, he's not allowed to talk about you like that…or anyone else. I just made sure he knew it. And I was actually winning until you distracted me."

"Sorry," Mindy replied reaching up to gently touch the early signs of the bruise around his eye. "We should get some ice for that." Danny attributed the shiver that ran up his spine when she touched him to the adrenaline in his body re-adjusting to normal following the fight.

"That would probably be good, though I'd like to think the other guy is worse off than I am."

"I'm sure he is. You totally kicked his ass."

"I did, didn't I? And he was definitely at least 10 years younger than me. You know what, I think we can stop running for today."

"Oh, thank God. Can we get some cotton candy?"

"Sure, why not?"

After a few moments of silence, Mindy realized something pretty important about this whole situation.

"Oh my God, you totally defended my honor. Danny! That is like the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I did not! I punched a guy talking crap."

"Yes, in defense of _me_."

"Yea, yea, it's no big deal."

"I am totally telling everyone this story at the office tomorrow. You, Danny Castellano, are my hero."

"Oh jeez, Mindy. Let's not blow this out of proportion here. Just buy me a cotton candy and put some ice on my face and we can call it even."

"Alright fine, but just keep in mind that the only kind of heroes that stay secret are super-heroes. I wonder what your alter-ego should be named…"

"And here we are at the cotton candy!"

And with that, they ordered some cotton candy. For Mindy, it was practically a food group, but it was a rare treat for Danny. He naturally made some comment about the pure sugar rotting his teeth, to which Mindy responded that she couldn't even remember her last dental appointment. They walked for a little while debating the merits of dentistry before the subject returned to today's events.

"You know, that guy was clearly an offensive idiot, but he was right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"Your butt does look damn good in those pants."

"I know, right?! I should totally get another pair. It might even be enough of a reason to do this again."

"So, next Sunday? 4 miles?"

"Sure, if you want to carry me the last two miles."

"I'm not going to carry you."

"But I so love a good piggyback ride."

"Is this any way to treat the guy who defended your honor?"

"See! You totally did defend my honor." And with that, Mindy looped her arm through Danny's arm and they continued to enjoy the day, at a slower and more enjoyable pace than earlier.


	4. A-Camping We Will Go

**Oh, alright, here's your daily dose! I can't promise to keep it up, but I'm trying! I hope you all liked "Run, Mindy, Run." I like to think of Danny as a non-violent guy, but the fight seemed justified. Here's a little game for you for this story. A line in this one-shot is what birthed the whole series. If you guess it and guess it first (via a review), I'll dedicate the next one-shot to you!**

It was Labor Day weekend and despite the relatively unsuccessful camping trip in the spring, the employees of Schulman & Associates had opted to try once again. Morgan had his own tent due to his self-identified night terrors. It came with a lock on the outside that the others were instructed to unlock in the morning only when they were certain he was fully awake. Mindy and Betsy were to share a second tent and Danny and Jeremy were to share the third, though this plan had hit some clear snags when everyone headed to bed after the bonfire.

From within their tent, Betsy and Mindy could hear the two men arguing until finally it seemed they had taken it out of the tent.

"No. Nope. This is not going to happen," Danny announced. "There is no way I can share a tent with him."

Mindy and Betsy both came out of their tent, trying to do something to avoid this turning into a physical altercation.

"Guys, what's going on?" Morgan yelled from his locked tent.

Mindy pulled Danny aside. "I can't do it, Mindy. I can't share with this narcissistic, irritating asshole."

"Well, what do you suppose we do then?'

"Someone is just going to have to switch with me."

"Who should switch? I can't share with Jeremy. I have no plans on ever crossing that bridge again and you know he would try, so sharing is absolutely out of the question. Morgan can't share with anyone. And we can't ask Betsy. She's a subordinate in the practice. It would be like sexual harassment."

Before Danny could answer, Betsy approached them. "I can share with Dr. Reed. It's fine, really."

"Are you sure, Betsy?"

She confirmed she was and although Jeremy was an ass, both Danny and Mindy knew that he had enough common decency to not put the moves on sweet, innocent Betsy. Of course, this also meant that they would be sharing a tent themselves.

After a few minutes in their respective sleeping bags, a noise came from the outside the tent and Mindy bolted up out of her sleeping bag.

"Relax," Danny said in a sleepy voice. "It's probably just Morgan."

"How can you say relax, Danny? Do you know what kind of wild animals are out there?'

"Sure, it's the woods, but we're safe in here."

"Fine, do you do solemnly swear that if a bear attacks this tent in the middle of the night that you will throw your body in front of me, sacrificing yourself so that I might live?"

"Sure, will do."

"I'm not entirely sure I believe you, but fine," Mindy responded though she didn't move from the spot in which she was standing.

"What's wrong now?"

"I'm cold."

Well, that's what happens when you borrow a My Little Pony sleeping bag from your friend's kid, now isn't it?

"Yes, I know that now, but the knowledge doesn't help too much at the moment!"

Without getting up, Danny unzipped his sizable sleeping bag. "Get in."

"Are you sure? It doesn't look very roomy…"

"Would you rather freeze?"

Mindy hesitantly got into the sleeping bag with Danny, attempting to keep her distance, which is pretty much impossible in a sleeping bag. It was a lot warmer than her sleeping bag though so she was glad he offered. She kept wiggling around, trying to get comfortable, but also trying to not end up in too close of a position with Danny, at least while they were both still awake. Danny was frustrated by her movements, so he flung arm her waist and they basically ended up in a spooning position.

"Danny, don't you think this is a little inappropriate?"

"No, what's inappropriate is that you and Reed seem hell-bent on depriving me of sleep tonight. We're both adults here. I think we can handle body parts touching."

A few minutes passed and Mindy could tell by Danny's breathing that he was still awake. His breath, by the way, was hot on her neck when he exhaled, though not necessarily unpleasant.

"Danny? Can I ask what happened with Christina?'

"Really, Mindy? You want to do this now?"

"Not if you don't want to."

Danny sighed deeply. "I spent a really long time wondering what-if with Christina and waiting for her to realize her mistake and come back to me. But then when she did, I guess I realized that someone who would intentionally cause me so much pain didn't really deserve to be with me. I mean, being with again helped me not feel so bitter or resent her as much, but when I didn't feel that way anymore, being together just didn't make sense for me. She may have been right for me at some point in my life, but that time is over now."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. I really appreciate you sharing, Danny."

"Well, you asked. And we're friends."

"We are, aren't we? Even if you didn't ask for it."

"I know I never really apologized for that. I was upset and I'm an idiot. Obviously we're friends and that friendship means a lot to me."

"Thanks, Danny."

It probably should have felt more awkward to have this conversation while basically cuddling in a confined space, with practically no space between their bodies. Oddly, it really didn't. It didn't feel awkward the next night either...


	5. Just Desserts

**Thanks for all the reviews! The sentence that inspired this all was: "Fine, do you do solemnly swear that if a bear attacks this tent in the middle of the night that you will throw your body in front of me, sacrificing yourself so that I might live?" It came to me while writing my first Mindy/Danny story (probably because of the finale) and it obviously didn't fit in there so I decided I would simply need to write a whole new series!**

A knock came at his door at 10:14 PM. Danny smiled and shook his head because he knew exactly who was standing on the other side. It had become an odd routine of sorts for them. This was the third Saturday in a row that Mindy was going on a first date and apparently this one went in the same direction that the other two did, ending up with her bringing over her dessert to share. He yelled from the kitchen for her to come in and she did, kicking off her shoes at the front door as naturally as if she did it every day. Danny had grabbed a couple of forks from the drawer and they stood at the counter hovering over the dessert, as had become the pattern.

"So, what went wrong this time?"

"He told me that he was surprised I was a doctor because I didn't appear that smart."

"Wow, that's bold."

"Right, I mean who in his life actually told him that insulting your date is a great way to get a second date."

"And remind me what was wrong with the other two guys?"

"Well, the first guy Brad seemed nice but he was literally so frightened of being on a date that he didn't say a word for like 45 minutes. That's the last time I ask my mechanic to set me up."

"Why would you ask your mechanic to set you up?"

"I was desperate. It's OK. I gave the guy a referral to a good therapist."

"And the second guy…Trevor, was it?" Danny laced Trevor's name with disdain because despite his feigned ignorance, he knew exactly why that situation did not work out.

"Oh yes, Trevor the frat guy who basically assumed within 15 minutes that I would sleeping with him that night."

"Well, at least we got a cheesecake out of him. I mean, your date with Brad only gave us apple pie."

"Oh, Danny, you are going to be so excited! On today's menu is chocolate molten lava cake."

They broke open the container to reveal a decadent chocolate cake. Mindy moaned upon the first bite of cake.

"Um, relax there, Lahiri. Or do you want to be alone with the cake?"

"I kind of do, actually. Do you mind going to your bedroom and leaving me out here with the cake?"

"Alright, cake hog. Pass some over here."

"I'm beginning to think I should take a hiatus from dating. The whole idea of having random people set me up is not working so well. I should focus on myself or something like that."

"Yea, I'm sort of on a break myself. After things ended with Christina again, I decided to take a step back from that scene. You know, figure out what I want and all that other crap that people spout when they're single. It's actually been alright so far."

"I should make this the 'Autumn of Mindy'? You know, spend time with friends, hang out with Rishi more, go the movies alone, stuff like that. I'm tired of the dating world. I think I need a break."

"Sounds like a good plan," Danny said, laughing at her subtle attempts to stick her fork into his side of the cake, which she thought was not noticeable. He gave her a stern look. She pouted and he gave in and let her steal the whipped cream from his side.

"OK, Danny, which romantic comedy are we watching tonight?"

"Remind me why exactly you brought over a whole box of them last week."

"I had a feeling I would end up here after yet another disastrous date night and they would never have fit in the clutch that matches this outfit!'

"Right, of course, makes total sense."

"Ooh, how about this one," Mindy said with excitement as she held one of the movies up.

"No way. You are not Notebooking me. I've heard about this. It's not going to happen."

"But it is like the greatest love story ever made. Well, second only to the actual relationship between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. They will find their way back to each other someday, I promise you."

"Sorry, try again."

"The Wedding Singer? It's the 80's. Billy Idol makes an appearance."

"Fine. I guess that's acceptable. One of these movie nights, let's watch something that involves a car chase or something blowing up or subtitles. I don't know if I can handle this particular genre of film too much longer."

"Aw, Danny, that's cute. It's like you think you have a choice."

"You know, I usually at least get to have sex after I'm stuck watching these types of movies."

It was a quick statement said without thinking it through first, but the awkwardness that set in between them put an immediate stop to the conversation. The thing was if they had both never thought about what that would be like with the other person in that way, it wouldn't have been awkward. But since there was a feeling of awkwardness when that topic was mentioned, that probably meant that they _had_ both thought about it. Luckily, as evidenced by previous events of inadvertent hold-holding and potential kisses, these two were experts at pretending something didn't exist between them. And so, the tension shifted after just a few moments back to the status quo of friendship. Danny pressed play on the remote and Mindy was excited to realize that the DVD actually had karaoke as a special feature and naturally implored Danny to sing with her after the movie was over. He half-heartedly protested before ultimately agreeing, but mostly because it was sometimes just easier to agree with Mindy.


	6. Wedding Non-Crashers

**I'll admit that I wasn't loving this one initially, but I think it worked itself out in the end. I'm not sure how many more one-shots I will do for this series. I don't want to drag it out so long that it feels unnatural to push off the inevitable. I mean there's only so long these two crazy kids can not see what we all see!**

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Mindy said to herself as she opened the blush-colored envelope that had come to her office mail and had been brought to her desk by Betsy. She jumped out of her seat and practically ran into Danny's office.

"Can you believe this?" she announced as she burst into his office and tossed the invitation onto his desk.

"Welcome, come on in, Mindy."

"Sorry, but this is urgent."

"What is it?"

"It's an invitation to Jamie and Lucy's wedding."

"They invited you? That's a little weird."

"Well, I am the reason that they finally got together. After all, as Jamie put it, I am the last person he dated before he found the person he is going to spend the rest of his life with."

"Ouch…"

"And now I don't even have Casey to shove in his face."

"Sucks to be you," Danny said with a smirk.

"You do realize you are my plus one for this, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"I obviously can't go alone. And you made out with the bride."

"Doesn't that mean I shouldn't be at the wedding?"

"If I have to suffer through this, so do you."

"How kind of you to bring me into your misery."

"That's right, buddy. Wear your best suit. We are going to rock this wedding."

_Six weeks later…_

"You're early!" Mindy scowled at him as she opened the door still in her bathrobe.

"Well, I was early the last time we spent time with Jamie and Lucy, so I figured I'd make it a trend."

"Yea, and look how that turned out."

"Hey, you might have lost the guy, but at least you looked hot doing it. I saved you from that god-awful orange dress."

"Yea, I looked at it a few months later and it was pretty terrible."

"OK, well why don't you go finish up going from wow to da-yum," he said in a high-pitched mocking tone of voice.

"Is that supposed to be me? Because it's a horrible imitation."

"Nah, it's awesome," Danny responded with that smirk on that annoying, yet handsome, face. Mindy hated it that sometimes his face looked _more_ attractive when he was teasing her.

She had been talking to Danny via her open bedroom door as he waited in the hallway.

"Do you need help like zipping your dress or something?"

"Nah, I've got it. I'm just finding the right shoes. I will literally be 10 seconds. And….I'm….done!"

"Damn," Danny said as his jaw went a little slack as Mindy walked into the hallway.

"And that's the reaction I was going for," Mindy said as she walked past him with a slightly coy head turn back to look at him. She knew this dress was totally worth the investment. It was a deep purple with a tasteful neckline but a low back.

"Seriously, though, you look beautiful."

Mindy felt herself blush slightly. It was something about the choice of words. People often told each other that they looked nice or great, but beautiful was typically reserved for certain occasions and certain types of relationships. Her throat felt a little dry all of a sudden, but she chalked it up to the fact that she had been so busy getting ready that she wasn't hydrating as much as she should today.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." She remembered that time about a year ago when she insisted that she wasn't attracted to his weird body, but the guy did fill out a suit nicely…

Mindy was jolted out of her thoughts by Danny holding the front door open with her shoulder wrap in his outstretched hand. He looked at her a bit confused as to why she was still glued in her spot.

"Oh, sorry, lost my train of thought," she said grabbing the wrap from him. "Let's head out of here."

A couple of hours later, they exited the candlelit church into the bright sun.

"Were you crying in there?'

"No! I was not crying. I was just slightly tearful. It was a nice service."

"I think you were definitely crying, Min."

"Yes, well I'm human unlike _some_ people."

"Oh calm down, I think it's cute."

"Well it's about time you recognized how adorable I am."

Danny rolled his eyes. It was strange how the things that annoyed him about Mindy a year ago had become oddly endearing over time. Sure, he still pretended to be bothered by her incessant yammering about random celebrities, but it was hard to not get pulled into her excitement, joy, or outrage, depending on the specific situation.

They took their time getting over to the reception hall, having been to enough weddings to know that the cocktail hour would inevitably be a little delayed so that the photographer could get the perfect shot of the new couple. The reception was typical. The bride and groom stopped by their table very briefly to thank them for coming. Jamie pulled Mindy aside as Danny congratulated Lucy.

"I'm glad to see you're here with Danny. I had a feeling there was something there between you two…even when he did have his tongue down the throat of my future bride."

"We're not together! God, why do all of my ex-boyfriends think that?!"

"Think what," Danny interrupted, having only heard the last few seconds of the conversation.

"Nothing," Mindy stammered as Jamie raised his hands in a mea culpa before being pulled away by his new wife to mingle with another table.

The night continued as par for the course. Danny had the filet mignon, while Mindy had the salmon. The couple cut the cake. The bride threw the bouquet. People got drunk. Danny and Mindy mostly people-watched and she roped him into role-playing fake conversations of people across the room. Overall, it wasn't such a bad time. The DJ had mostly been playing current hits, but decided to slow things down after the cake-cutting. Mindy had deferred dancing for much of the evening because although her heels looked great, they weren't very comfortable. Danny was fine with this decision. However, when Lucy's Aunt Tilly kept urging people at their table to dance, they figured they might as well. It felt a bit awkward at first to figure out their rhythm together, but they managed to settle in as the next song came on. It was the Eva Cassidy version of Songbird, which managed to be both beautiful and haunting at the same time. The song lulled them into a tired silence as Mindy settled more comfortably in Danny's arms, even leaning more against him than standing on her own at moments. Their movements slowed into a gentle sway in time with the music and with each other. It was a peaceful moment suspended in time, of course until the song ended and Cotton-Eyed Joe started to blare across the dance floor. Danny and Mindy lingered for a few beats and then slowly pulled away from each other. Danny gave into the urge to push a piece of hair behind Mindy's ear, but this action seemed to surprise him more than her.

"So, um, I guess we should head out now?"

Mindy hoped she didn't sound to breathless when she replied, "Yea, it's late and my feet hurt."

For reasons neither of them understood, Danny massaged her feet in the taxi on the way home. Neither of them acknowledged that it was happening, of course. But maybe that was enough for now.


	7. In The ClubAgain

It was a cold night at the beginning of December 2013 when the office gang decided to venture into another New York club. Even Beverly asked to come along, which was a little strange, but it seemed cruel to not invite her. They all agreed to meet up there, so it didn't _actually_ make sense that Mindy took a cab to pick up Danny at his place, but regardless of logic, they had made those arrangements anyway. It was too cold, so she decided to call up and wait in the cab for Danny to come down.

Mindy was wearing her favorite jeans; the ones that made her butt look good. She debated bringing a coat for over her silver halter top, but it would've totally clashed and her shirt gave her tasteful cleavage. Meanwhile, Danny wore a pale blue button-up with dark-wash jeans and a tan suede jacket.

"Hey," he announced as he slid into the backseat. "You look nice."

"Thanks! I like your shirt. It's totally the one I sent you a link for isn't it?"

Danny sighed. He hoped she wouldn't notice, but who was he kidding? It's Mindy; of course she would notice. "Yea, well I needed a new shirt and you made it easy. I just had to click and order."

"Mm hmm, OK, I believe you. It's not that I picked an awesome shirt that makes you look like such a hottie. It's just that it was so convenient."

Danny winked at her. "Nice to know I'm looking hot tonight."

"Yea, well let's not let your head get too big. We do have to fit it through the cab door in a few minutes."

When they did arrive at the club, Danny insisted on paying for the cab, even though he had spent far less time in there than Mindy. She attempted to protest but really just for show because she had learned months ago that Danny could be ridiculously stubborn. They met Morgan, Betsy, and Jeremy at the entrance to the club. Beverly was there too but had managed to find herself a seat at the bar and did not seem to be giving it up anytime soon.

A few hours into the night, Mindy was feeling a bit frustrated about how the night had gone so far. She had definitely enjoyed dancing with Betsy and the guys, but she was surprised that not a single guy had approached her. Sure, she was still focusing on herself and taking a break from the dating scene, but it would've been a nice confidence boost to have gotten a little attention. At the moment, Jeremy was playing wing-man to Morgan in his attempts to talk to a girl, while Danny had went for their next round of drinks. Mindy took the opportunity to grab Betsy for a little girl talk. She liked Betsy, but it was a hard relationship to navigate. Betsy clearly considered them to be friends but she was also an employee and they didn't have a whole lot in common.

"Betsy, do I look terrible tonight?'

"Not at all, Dr. L. You look great! Why would you ask such a thing?"

"I was feeling pretty confident tonight, but no guys have come up to me or even looked my way."

Betsy looked away, clearly thinking something but not wanting to share it.

"Betsy…"

"It's nothing. It's not my business."

"What's going on?"

"Well, I guess I've been wondering…are you like _involved_ in some way with Dr. Castellano?'

"No! Why would you say that?"

"Well, it's just that I've seen a few guys looking at you tonight, but when they get close, he kind of glares at them. So, I guess I was thinking maybe he was jealous or something if you two were together, but you're not, so it's a ridiculous thought. I'm sorry for even bringing it up."

"It's OK, Betsy." Mindy couldn't let it sit though. She needed to know more about what Betsy has observed. "So, you think Danny is scaring guys away…like, with his face?"

"I don't even think he realizes that he's doing it though! Please don't be angry with him. I don't want to create any trouble."

"Don't worry, Betsy, I won't say anything."

Danny returned to them and as he approached to hand a drink to each woman, he stood just an inch closer to Mindy than what felt like a normal distance between friends. She felt a little tense at his proximity to her. Betsy's comments had shaken her a little bit. She and Danny had gotten closer in recent months, but they were just friends. It suddenly hit her…she could understand how Betsy might be misinterpreting Danny's actions. He was probably just being protective and keeping asshole guys away since he knew she was trying to take a break from the dating scene. After this rationalization, she felt less uneasy. Nothing was changed or different. It was just a mistaken observation on the part of Betsy. Rinse and repeat the phrase in her own brain a few times and things could return to normal in her mind.

Mindy decided to just not care who approached her tonight, and focused on enjoying her time with friends. They danced late into the evening. Danny was seriously sweaty, but it wasn't as gross to her as she expected it would be. They were all feeling a bit tipsy and Danny tended to be a bit looser when he had a few drinks. They had mostly been dancing as a group until Betsy went to the restroom and Jeremy insisted on walking her there. Morgan had already managed to get a girl to dance with him.

Danny and Mindy could have left the dance floor, but decided in some sort of unspoken agreement to dance together. It obviously wasn't the first time they had danced, but the darkness of the club and the alcohol in their veins made the situation feel different. They stood at a modest distance apart, but Danny's hands found his way to Mindy's hips as they swayed. Her hands fell naturally onto his arms and she hated herself for immediately complimenting his arm muscles. He laughed and his fingers dug into her hips a little as he chuckled. She chalked up the shiver in her spine to the effects of alcohol.

"You're a little drunk, aren't you, Dr. Lahiri?"

"No! I'm just being funner."

"Funner is not a word."

"Don't be annoying, Drunky McDrunkerson."

"Hey, I'm Italian, not Irish."

Mindy poked at his nose with her finger. "You are whatever I say you are!"

"Sure, babe, whatever." Neither one of them seemed to notice the term of endearment that slipped out of his mouth.

By then, Jeremy and Betsy had returned. They could all tell that Betsy was feeling a bit tired as this wasn't exactly her usual scene. They all decided to walk four blocks to a local 24 hour diner to eat and sober up a bit before heading home. Of course, Mindy was absolutely freezing the second they left the club. All the alcohol in the world running through her veins would not be enough to warm her.

Danny noticed Mindy shivering almost immediately and without bothering to offer, he slipped off his suede jacket and slung it over her shoulder.

"Why on earth didn't you bring a coat?'

"It didn't match the outfit. Won't you be cold?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I have long-sleeves. I don't suffer for my fashion."

"Well, thanks, this is much better. You keep making my life better recently, Danny."

Danny abruptly stopped walking and Mindy turned back to face him. He grasped her wrist with his thumb and forefinger to pull her back towards him. She faltered in her footing and he steadied her before he lightly grasped the lapels of his jacket still wrapped around her. In her drunken state, even this light touch pulled her a bit closer into his personal space. Their eyes connected and he could see the confusion there in her eyes.

"Me too, Mindy. You know that, right?"

She paused briefly, not because she didn't have an answer but because it was just one of those moments where you take a deep breath first. "Yea, Danny, I know it."


	8. I Hate Ryan Seacrest

Danny was out of breath as he jogged through his front door. It was a brisk evening at the end of December and he had just finished a 6 mile run. He wondered if 2014 could be the year that he tried a marathon. He grabbed his phone on the counter and was surprised that there wasn't yet another text message from Mindy. She had been harassing him since before Christmas to tag along with her on New Year's Eve. She had met a woman in her Zumba class who knew someone who knew someone and Mindy ended up with an invitation to a party 40 floors up in Times Square. According to Mindy, it was going to be the _ultimate_ New Years' experience. Gwen and her husband were going to be there too and Mindy told him multiple times that while she had become a more independent woman, she did not want to be a third wheel. Danny kept declining the offer, but Mindy could tell she was wearing him down and she voiced it to him quite insistently the last time that they saw each other.

Danny sighed. He was going to cave. And Mindy had totally called it. He didn't have plans and the party did sound fun. He called Mindy, but got her voicemail, which was really strange because she was practically attached to her phone. He jumped in the shower and when he came out a few minutes later, he saw that she had just sent a text message: "Can't talk. I'm dying."

Danny was suspiciously curious. There could be something major happening. Or Mindy got a paper cut. It could go either way. He was clean and had to get dressed anyway, so he figured he might as well throw on some nice clothes and head over the Mindy's to see if the party was still on.

He arrived at Mindy's about 30 minutes later and had to knock on the door a few times before she answered. Mindy opened the door and frankly looked like hell. Her clothes were disheveled, her hair was mussed, and if it didn't sound ridiculous he would even say her skin tone was a bit green. She barely squeaked out a greeting before running away from him and he heard violent retching a few seconds later. He closed the door behind him and wandered awkwardly around the living room. He heard running water and could tell she was brushing her teeth.

"Hi," she croaked as she re-entered the living space.

"So, I guess you really are dying."

"I think it's food poisoning. I felt fine earlier, but this started about an hour after lunch. God, I must look disgusting."

"Nah, you look fine."

"You're a terrible liar. I am gross. Oh, and look at you! You look so nice. You're coming tonight, aren't you?'

"Um, Mindy, I hate to be the one to break it to you but I don't think you'll be partying tonight."

He knew she must have felt like crap because she gave in easily. "Yea, I guess so. I was so excited to cap off the Autumn of Mindy! You should go though. I'll give you the tickets. Watch the ball drop. Kiss some random stranger at midnight."

"Nah, I was only going because I knew you'd never let it go if I didn't. If you're not going, there's no point."

"That's kind of sweet," she whispered before her face dropped and her body jolted forward. She made a beeline for the bathroom again.

A few moments later, Danny knocked on the bathroom door, which was slightly ajar. "Min? You OK?"

He heard a soft moan in response and took that as an invitation to ease the door further open. Mindy was lying on the floor beside the toilet. She had thankfully managed to flush it before slumping to the ground.

"No. Can't get up. Leave me. I'll sleep here tonight."

"Sorry, can't do that. Come on, I'll help you."

She stood slowly with Danny's help, but felt dizzy and stumbled a bit as they walked. After a few steps of trying to walk with her, Danny just decided it was easier to pick her up. He walked into her bedroom, placed her gently on the bed after pulling back the covers, and tucked her in. In her foggy state, she couldn't help but think this would be sort-of romantic if she hadn't just puked her guts out. She quickly drifted off to sleep, but only after asking Danny to message Gwen to let her know the change of plans.

Mindy's eyes fluttered open and she immediately looked at the clock, which indicated 11:23 PM. She heard a loud bang in the kitchen and an expletive coming from Danny's mouth. She felt a lot better, though really hungry and still a bit unsteady on her feet when she got out of bed. Her first stop was the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth again. She also combed her hair and changed into different pajamas, which was probably a little silly but she wanted to look better than she felt, even if it was just Danny that would be seeing her.

She tried to sound more chipper than she felt. "Hey, you're still here?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah, I was waking up anyway. What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing, just making you some chicken soup."

"Oh, you are a godsend. I am starving and that's probably all my stomach can handle right now."

They sat on the couch with Mindy's afghan draped over their laps because she insisted on sharing. Danny had taken off his top layer so he was just in dark jeans and a white t-shirt. Mindy couldn't help but flash back to the time over a year ago now that Danny told her that he noticed how she looked at him when he was wearing a t-shirt. So, sue her; he looked good. Danny flipped to one of the many channels showcasing the New York countdown. They watched for a few minutes before Mindy sighed with disappointment as she saw the exuberant crowds that littered the street.

Danny noticed her reaction. "I know this isn't how you planned to spend tonight."

"That's true, but this isn't so bad…you know, minus the vomit."

"Yea, I'm actually having fun. I usually hate New Year's Eve."

"Dr. Crankypants is having fun?! So all I have to do is get food poisoning, puke multiple times in front of you, and force you to watch bad television. Good to know."

"I still hate Ryan Seacrest though."

"I get that."

They watched TV in the comfortable silence of people who knew each other well enough to not need to fill the space with talking. Mindy's head drifted to rest on his shoulder and something about that just seemed normal. She almost seemed to be asleep, but jolted herself awake at 11:59 PM.

"Alright, it's time. Countdown to 2014!"

Danny indulged Mindy's insistent urging to count aloud: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

"Happy New Year, Danny," Mindy said as she flung her arms around him.

Danny watched Mindy as she returned her eyes to watch the festivities on the TV. She looked so happy. He wished he could enjoy the world in the way that Mindy did so often. Danny had this fleeting urge to kiss her. It felt like those moments on the airplane and in the lounge where his body was telling him to do something that his brain didn't yet understand. It passed as fast as it did before so that by the time she looked back at him, the feeling had faded as quickly as it had come.

"You look happy, Danny."

"Huh?"

"You're smiling. You have a nice smile. You should do it more often."

He stuttered something than sounded like a thank you. He wasn't often surprised, but the thing was that he hadn't even realized he was smiling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that whatever was happening within him, and between them, was going to get harder to ignore.

He was startled at the feel of Mindy's head on his shoulder again. She sighed softly as her eyes drifted closed. He smiled. She was the only person he knew that could go from asleep to excited and back to sleeping in the matter of minutes. Without thinking, he turned his head to place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. It elicited a small sigh of contentment from her sleeping body and something about that noise made his body both shiver and feel warm at the same time. There was nothing left for him to do really except close his own eyes and rest his head on hers.


	9. First Fight

**I rather like this one. For the record, I realize I'm probably torturing all of you. And I'm totally OK with that. To quote a show that I used to love until they got the leads together in a way that I did not like at all: "everything happens eventually."**

Mindy was procrastinating at the front desk, avoiding the pile of paperwork in her office from her busy day as the only doctor in the office yesterday. Jeremy was telling the ladies of the office about his long weekend and Betsy blushed slightly as he threw a wink her way when he said that he wished she would have been able to join him and his visiting parents for lunch. Danny strode into the office, clearly in a mood. He had been out unexpectedly yesterday and Mindy hadn't talked to him since before the weekend.

"Mindy, can I talk to you," he said more than asked with what seemed to be an attempt at restraint.

She knew immediately that he was upset. He let her pass first into his office before closing the door behind them, no doubt creating curiosity amongst their colleagues.

"What were you thinking? Why would you tell my Mom about my fight with Tony?"

"You haven't talked to your brother in a month and you've been all sulky about it! I just thought your mother could get you back together again."

"Did you think maybe there was a reason we didn't tell her? We don't involve her because we don't like to worry her! It's practically the only thing we agree on. God, you are so infuriating sometimes. I didn't ask for your help!" His voice become louder with each statement he made.

Mindy whispered an apology before rushing out of his office.

Danny hit the edge of his desk with his fists and then held onto it with a white-fingered grip in both hands. He was angry, though not all at Mindy. He was angry at himself because he had obviously upset her. Were her actions over the boundary of appropriateness? Sure. Were they well-intentioned? Always.

He walked across the main office floor, ignoring curious glances, and softly knocked on Mindy's door. She didn't answer but he went in anyway. He saw her sitting at her desk chair, tears in her eyes. A wave of shame ran through his body as he wiped his face with both hands.

"Oh shit, I made you cry? God, I am such an ass. I'm sorry, Mindy."

She jumped up. "No, Danny. You're right. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have involved your mother. It's your business. I had no right to intrude."

She grasped his hands with hers and she felt like she could practically feel her heart break when he pulled away. But then, the next emotion was surprise when he raised his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks with a tenderness she had actually felt from him before. It was like the moment in the lounge when he cleaned her glasses and that time in the prison when he sutured her cuts. This time, he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. His hands lingered on her face as he spoke.

"Hey, I know you were just trying to help. I overreacted. I know that's just what you do when you care about someone."

She stepped away from his grasp slightly, still upset with herself.

"It doesn't make it right though, Danny. I shouldn't butt into people's lives. I always do that and it always gets me in trouble."

"I know, but it's what makes you, you. And I wouldn't change that for anything."

"Even if it's infuriating?"

"I said that in the heat of the moment. Most of the time, it's actually kind-of adorable. And you should take that seriously because I do not use the word 'adorable' lightly."

"Yea," she asked a bit shyly, quite atypical for her.

"Mindy, you have helped me more than you know this year. And you should seriously ignore me anytime I say that I didn't ask for something from you because usually it's what I don't ask for that I end up needing from you."

"OK," she responded slowly, still a bit doubtful, but willing to accept his forgiveness. "But, from now on, I promise to try to not be quite so involved in things that aren't my business."

Danny nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good thing to work on."

He pulled her into a hug and she held on a bit tighter than she probably should have. She released her arms and they both pulled back, though Danny didn't drop his arms right away. She looked at him with uncertainty. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, causing her eyes to flutter closed for a moment. She opened them again when she felt him pull away and saw for just the briefest second that there was something different in his eyes when he looked at her. He cleared his throat and stepped back a bit awkwardly. She searched for words to ease the tension.

"Can I ask…was your Mom upset?"

"Well, she's used to us fighting. We've been this way since we were kids. She convinced him to come over for Sunday dinner. We didn't really resolve anything, but we basically agreed to disagree. I could tell my Mom was disappointed though and I feel like she expects me to solve it because I'm older. It's always my job to make things OK for Tony and I'm just sick of it. But, I hate disappointing her and making her worry. That's why I was so upset that you told her what was happening."

"You know, the responsibility doesn't fall only on you. Tony has to step up to the plate. I don't even know what the fight was about, but there's always two people contributing in any argument."

"I guess you're right. It's just a hard habit to break."

Mindy shrugged and nodded, showing her understanding of this statement.

"You know, this was our first friend fight."

"We've definitely argued before, Mindy."

"Sure, but that was mostly just banter. This was like intense and it's the first one since we've become real friends."

"You look oddly pleased by that."

"Well, it's an important step in our relationship! We fought and the friendship survived it. We're better than ever, Danny!" She practically squealed the last sentence as she hooked her arm in his and dragged him into the main office, announcing to the others (who were pretending that they hadn't been listening outside of the door) that they successfully resolved their first fight.


	10. Little Miss Not-So-Perfect

**So, I know it's been awhile! I've been trying to be intentional about planning the rest of this story before posting again. I want to keep giving you chapters but I also don't want to drag it out like one of those TV shows that waits too long to get a couple together in order to keep the show going. So, I've written the last chapter...actually there are two different versions right now that I'm trying to merge together. I'm guessing that including this chapter, there will be 3 more until the finale.**

Mindy glared from her office chair, subtlety angling her body so she could see the reception area while pretending to review her files. Little Miss Perfect, a pharmaceutical representative, was there once again. _What is this? The third time this week!?_ She was tall and blonde, with a sickeningly sweet voice that you knew could not be her natural tone. Today, she accosted Danny as he finished scheduling a follow-up appointment for Mrs. Williams with Betsy. And so now, 10 minutes later, after telling him all about a new vitamin for pregnant women, she was standing there, leaning close to him and touching his arm with her hand. She laughed melodically, though a bit annoyingly, at something he said though his reaction made Mindy suspect that he didn't intend whatever he said to be amusing.

Mindy couldn't take the scene anymore. It annoyed her and she didn't know why really. She jumped from her chair and went to the waiting room to straighten the magazines. It was close to the lunch hour so there were no appointments waiting. She noticed Jeremy observing her and he finally came over.

"You are so jealous right now," Jeremy crowed.

"What? Shut up. I am not."

"You totally are. You're jealous that the hot blonde is all up in Danny's business."

"Shh, be quiet!" she ordered as she looked over to the main reception area, relieved that no one seemed to notice their conversation.

"Mindy, you seem to forget that we were once involved. I know how you look and act when you're jealous. And you are about an 11 on a 1 to 10 scale of jealousy right now."

"That's ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing to be jealous about here. I just don't appreciate when those in the pharmaceutical profession distract medical doctors from their important work."

"Fine, you're not jealous. But just so you know, he's definitely not into her."

"How do you know? Not that I care or anything; I'm just curious."

"Take a closer look, Mindy. He keeps looking down at his files when she's talking to him. His body is sort-of turned away from her. And he keeps looking to Betsy to save him by faking an appointment or something, though frankly I think Betsy is too nice to realize when someone is irritated."

"Oh, so you think he's irritated by her…and not like attracted or anything."

"Definitely not. I mean she's nice to look at and I assume he's not blind, but he practically cringes every time she laughs!"

"Oh, well OK then. Good to know, you know if I cared or anything."

Jeremy shook his head. "Say whatever you want, but deep down, you know that you want to be the one all up in Danny's business."

Mindy glared at him. "Shut up, Reed."

She tried to not let it show on her face that now she was picturing Danny's "business" and envisioning what it would be like to be all up in it. If forced to acknowledge it, he had a nice body and she didn't hate their hugs or being in his arms during inadvertent snuggling when they fell asleep on the couch. Still, though, this was Danny, her_ friend_!

Her thoughts were interrupted by the man in question and she shot Jeremy a hard look. Luckily, he seemed willing to not completely humiliate her and remained silent about his opinion of her reaction to Danny's new friend.

"Can we make an office policy about not allowing pharmaceutical salespeople? She's driving me nuts."

Mindy couldn't help but smile when she heard Danny's actual view of the woman. She dug a little deeper, ignoring the smirk that crept onto Jeremy's face in the process.

"Oh, so you don't like her? She is rather pretty."

"Nah, she acts and looks so fake. I guess she could be considered attractive, but definitely not my type. She's more like Jeremy's type."

"Hey! That's not cool. I happen to prefer natural beauty too."

"Sure you do. Well, she's definitely a little too fake perfect for me."

"And, what is your type?" Jeremy asked, not missing the way that Danny's gaze automatically shifted to Mindy before he stuttered the beginning of an answer. Mindy herself continued in silence, preferring to have Jeremy ask the questions because she did not want to appear jealous, which she definitely was not because Danny is just her good friend.

"Well, intelligence is always attractive. But also she has a silly side to counter my seriousness. She's kind and genuine, though definitely flawed but that's what makes her interesting. And she's pretty, but doesn't realize it a lot of the time. When I hold her, it feels like our bodies were meant to fit together. And when I'm with her in general, it just feels right.

"That's a tall order there, Danny. I hope you find her."

Jeremy's remark pulled Danny from the somewhat dreamlike state he had taken on when describing his perfect woman...or the one that already existed in his life? For a brief second, he wasn't so sure.

"Huh? Oh, thanks."

Danny wandered away, feeling a bit stupid for talking so much about his personal life in the office, particularly with Jeremy Reed of all people.

Meanwhile, Jeremy elbowed Mindy. "No worries, doll, he so wants to be all up in your business too."

She called out to him as he retreated. "We're _friends_, Jeremy. I can understand how you might not get that because you don't have any."

The only response she received was a head nod and smirk, which was irritating beyond belief.


	11. Tea Party

**I don't really love this chapter, but decided to keep it because: (a) something happens in here that relates to the last chapter, and (b) it indirectly inspired my upcoming story. I didn't expected to write again (other than the 4th of July one-shot), but an idea came to me! So, I hope you'll all keep your eyes out soon for ****_Six Days, Seven Nights_****.**

It was a blustery February afternoon and Mindy was at Gwen's house outside the city. It was Riley's birthday so there were about a million little girls running around. Mindy was in the kitchen, away from the chaos and helping Gwen with the food. Danny had come with her to the party and was somewhere amidst the insanity. She had been talking with Gwen about other things when Gwen suddenly made what apparently seemed to be a grand proclamation in her eyes.

"Danny's great, you know."

"Well, obviously, Gwen. I'd like to think I pick good friends."

"So, not so much of a handsome jerk anymore?"

"Jeez, Gwen, not so loud! Would you mind not broadcasting that? ...What is that look on your face? Did you _tell_ him I called him that?!"

"It was after I hurt my arm. It was the pain talking! Besides, that's history now."

"I guess, but it's still embarrassing."

"Sweetie, I'm sure he knows he's handsome and you obviously don't think he's a jerk anymore. I mean, how could you think that of any guy that would accompany you to a child's birthday party and he's not even dating you? Not that I mind, but how exactly did Danny end up here with you anyway?"

"I don't know really. We went for a run and I had to stop for Riley's gift and then he got her one too and somehow it just made sense that we both come here today."

"He got her a gift? He got a gift for a child he doesn't really know? Remind me again, why aren't you giving him some sweet, sweet love?"

"Jeez Gwen, is that child-appropriate? He just felt bad that the last gift he helped with ended up with her mother in the hospital."

"I'm just saying maybe you should do something about this whole Danny thing…"

"Oh, God, not you too, Gwen? Danny and I are just friends. Just like you and me."

"I love you and all, Mindy, but trust me, I have never looked at you the way Danny looks at you."

"How does he look at me?"

"Like he can't believe you're real and he wants to jump your bones just to make sure…"

"Classy description. Not to mention, ridiculous. I'm sure Danny looks at me the way he looks at everyone else."

"Mindy, are you blind? Danny Castellano is over there right now having a freaking tea party with my daughter and her friends. I'm a little disturbed that they're all in love with him already because I swear I am not old enough to have a daughter with a crush on an older man, but if you think this is normal behavior for a guy who _doesn't_ have a major things for the godmother of the kid, you're insane. He clearly has the hots for you."

"You're reading way too much into this, Gwen. Danny is great with kids. He has tons of nieces and nephews. This is about Riley's birthday. It has absolutely nothing to do with him having a thing for me."

"Oh, I give up. Fine, you're right and I'm wrong."

"Yes, as always. Now be quiet, he's coming in here!"

"Hey, can I hide in here? It's a little crazy out there and the little red-head keeps following me around."

"Aw, that's cute. She must love you, Danny," Gwen said as she left the kitchen with food trays in hand.

"That's ridiculous," he said, turning to Mindy. "I could be her father."

"She doesn't know that. At that age, everyone is 5, 18, or 80."

"Well, my daughter is not going to date until she's well past 18."

Mindy boosted herself onto the counter next to Danny, sampling some of the carrots and dip that Gwen left in the kitchen.

"You want kids, Danny?"

"Yea, does that surprise you?"

"No. It's just that I know you were married for a while and didn't have any…"

"Christina wasn't sure if she wanted kids. So, I guess there's another reason it wasn't meant to be with her."

"I definitely want them. I hope I don't get too old before I meet someone…"

"Is this because of what I said last year? I was an idiot. You could meet someone tomorrow. Besides, women have children well into their 40's now…and we of all people know this! Not to mention that adoption makes parenthood viable for much longer."

"That is true. There's hope for little Angelina and Brad."

"Exactly, though please don't name your children that."

"I was just kidding. I guess Rainbow Aurora is out too?"

"Please don't tell me that is an actual name. Lie to me if you have to."

Mindy smiled at his incredulous face and bumped her shoulder into Danny's.

"And what will you name your kids?"

"I don't know. I mean I figure my wife would have more of a say given that they're coming out of her."

"Good call, my friend."

"But trust me; our kids will be far more awesome than these rug rats."

"That's lovely, Danny. Way to insult my goddaughter and her friends. But, I get where you're coming from. We're awesome, so our kids will be super-awesome."

When she got home later that night and was playing around on the computer, Mindy decided to try out one of those websites that show you how your future children would look. Just out of curiosity, she put in pictures of her and Danny. What? She was just curious! Those kids were damn adorable though.


	12. Paging Dr Danny

**Second-to-last chapter, gang! Hope you're still enjoying the ride.**

Danny had just finished a heavy work-out at the gym when he noticed a call from the hospital on his phone. He was on-call but his pager hadn't gone off, so he called in with some confusion. The person on the other end cleared it all up. He wasn't being called as a doctor but because someone listed him as an emergency contact. They wouldn't tell him what the situation was but only that the person who listed him was Mindy Lahiri. Danny grabbed his stuff and jumped in a cab straight for the hospital. He felt panicky in the back of the cab and wondered if this is what it felt like for every person that he ever had the hospital receptionists call in an emergency situation.

He practically ran into the hospital demanding answers, but wasn't recognized because the ER was in a completely different area than Labor and Delivery. A nurse finally slowed down enough to talk with him.

"Are you Ms. Lahiri's husband?"

"No, I'm, um, her person. And she's a doctor."

"I'm not entirely sure what her 'person' means, but I'll assume that means you're close enough to Dr. Lahiri that she wouldn't mind you in her hospital room."

"It's a safe bet."

He was escorted into a curtained off area that definitely would not be considered a room in his department. Mindy sat on the gurney and smiled when he walked through the curtain. He was immediately relieved to see she was safe, alive, and mostly in one piece.

She answered his unasked question. "I dislocated my shoulder."

"You made me your emergency contact?"

"Well yea. My parents and Gwen are too far away and I don't trust Rishi to make end-of-life decisions. He'd probably pull the plug even if I had like a 90% chance of waking up in perfect shape."

"So you trust me to decide whether to remove life-sustaining measures?"

"I guess I do. Don't let the power go to your head. Keep in mind that I'd be just as lovely in a coma as I am conscious."

"And probably a lot quieter."

"Oh that's hilarious. Here I am on my deathbed and you're mocking me."

"You hurt your shoulder."

"It could've been worse."

"How exactly_ did_ you dislocate your shoulder?"

"I had just finished delivering Mrs. Johansen's twins and the stupid vending machine in the break room wouldn't release my Doritos. So, I stuck my arm up there and I must have twisted it the wrong way and there you have. They popped it back in, which hurt like hell by the way, but I'm stuck with this sling until they re-evaluate it in a few days."

"Well, at least you didn't have to travel far for help…"

"I know, right? They only called you because I obviously can't drive myself home and they didn't think a cab would be a good idea in my condition. They said I should have someone stay with me to help with like daily functioning stuff, but I know that would be a huge inconvenience and I'm sure I can figure it out on my own, so you really don't need to…"

She didn't get to finish because Danny interrupted. "Mindy, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay as long as you need me."

Tears sprung to Mindy's eyes and Danny looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying. It must be the pain medication."

Danny didn't really buy that excuse but decided to let her have this one.

"Um Danny, why are you so sweaty?"

Danny had completely forgotten that he came straight to the hospital from the gym. They made arrangements to swing by his apartment so he could grab a few items while Mindy waited in the cab, and then onward to her apartment. They walked up three flights of stairs, with Danny hovering a little bit to make sure Mindy didn't bump her arm. He also took the keys after she fumbled to open the door.

"Sorry it's a disaster in here."

"Seriously, Mindy, was there a tornado?"

"No mocking the patient!'

"You're really going to milk this, aren't you?"

"Oh, you've got that right," Mindy commented with a smile.

One side effect of her pain medication was sleepiness, so Mindy immediately went to her room to change her clothes. While on her way, she yelled at Danny to stop cleaning her apartment. In order the repair her shoulder, the doctors had cut into her scrub top so it wasn't quite a full shirt anymore. She had draped a sweater over it in the cab to preserve some modesty. She was allowed to remove her arm from the sling briefly, but obviously would not be able to remove and replace her shirt on her own. Because the top was already partly ripped, she was able to get the rest of it off, but that left her in her bra.

"Danny?", she yelled from her bedroom.

"Yea?'

"Can you come help me?"

"Sure, what do you need help with?" he responded as he entered her room. " Oh…," he said, averting his eyes as he noticed her state of undress.

"I need to change my clothes and I can't figure it out with only one arm."

"Oh, um, OK. Well let's see here."

Mindy was glad she had gone with her nice purple lace bra from Victoria's Secret, though she supposed it didn't really matter what she wore in front of Danny since it's not like she was trying to impress him. He was clearly uncertain of how to best be helpful without crossing a line, so she had to ask him to remove her bra, which was awkward because she definitely hadn't needed to tell a guy this since high school. Danny was a gentleman, managing to not look down at all as he unhooked her bra and removed it, being particularly careful with her injured arm. He struggled more with the next step of pulling a large t-shirt over her head. He inadvertently grazed the side of her breast with his hand and stuttered an apology.

"Hey, nothing you haven't done before," Mindy responded before kicking herself as it only increased Danny's awkwardness as they both recalled when Danny was Mindy's gynecologist for that brief period of time. Their eyes caught for a second and the room suddenly felt a lot hotter. Danny's eyes seemed darker to her than they ever had before. There was awkwardness there, but something else too.

During her exam with Danny last year, Mindy figured out quickly that he certainly did not view her solely as a lamp, but also as a woman. She noticed the look in his eyes when she lowered her top and how it intensified as he touched her. At the time, she chalked it up to him just being a guy, but looking back now, she realized that Danny was a consummate professional who did those type of exams all of the time. He was certainly well-trained at approaching them in a solely clinical nature with a clear boundary between himself and the patient. So why wasn't that the case with her?

While she was lost in thought, Danny had recovered from his discomfort and was in the process of re-fitting the sling to her arm and shoulder. She yawned out of sheer exhaustion. Danny pulled back her blankets and pulled them back over her once she had settled under them.

"I'll be just outside in the living room."

"Don't you dare clean!"

"But it's a disaster and there isn't anything better to do!"

"It's so unnecessary, Danny! It's bad enough I've stolen you from your life but now you're going to do chores?"

"Well, it's too bad you're stuck in your bed and can't do anything about it."

"Oh fine, I'm too tired to argue…"

Danny chuckled as he left the room. Mindy mumbled aloud while falling asleep. "Thanks Danny. In case I don't say it enough…you're awesome."

Danny paused at the door to catch a glimpse of her drifting to sleep. "Anytime, Mindy."

About an hour later, Mindy opened her eyes though she was still in a haze from the medication. She could see Danny scribbling on a piece of paper at her night table. He was wearing just a towel, slung low on his hips. She probably should have been wondering why Danny Castellano was practically naked in her bedroom, but it oddly didn't seem too unusual to her in the moment. Besides, the view certainly wasn't bad. She watched a bead of water trail from his neck to mid-back to lower back and then disappeared into the towel. She considered saying something but just drifted back to sleep instead.

She awoke again a few hours later and read the note.

_Mindy,_

_Went to the hospital. Emergency caesarean. I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay in bed. I'm bringing home mint chocolate chip ice cream._

_- Danny_

Tears sprung to Mindy's eyes again. He was bringing home her favorite ice cream. For a tough guy like Danny, that was practically like signing his note XOXO. He used to be just a handsome jerk colleague to her, but now he was this amazing friend and person in her life and she wasn't quite sure how it happened or if she actually deserved him.

She heard the front door to her apartment open and Danny announcing that it was just him. He knocked on her bedroom door while opening it at the same time. He looked rather depleted and she gestured at him to sit on the bed, clearing a space for him on top of the covers.

"Is everything OK?"

"It is now, but we almost lost them. It was touch-and-go for both mother and baby."

"Those are the toughest ones. Are you OK?"

"A little shaken honestly. I know we're not God, but sometimes it feels like we're expected to be. I felt so helpless. It makes you question your purpose for a few moments and whether you can really help anyone in this world."

"You're an amazing doctor, Danny. You were meant for this. And not to mention, all that you're doing for me. Trust me, you don't ever need to question if you're helping anyone. I'm daily proof."

"Well, I did bring you ice cream…so I guess that makes sense," Danny said as a smile returned to his face.

"All of that and you _still_ stopped for ice cream. Are you _sure_ you're not a god?"

Danny left and returned to the bedroom with two heaping bowls of ice cream and they turned on the Daily Show on the television in Mindy's room. Mindy was pretty awake given her extended nap, but Danny quickly drifted off to sleep. She stared at him, which was probably slightly creepy but he was asleep so it's not like he would know. He looked peaceful. She didn't have the heart to wake him, though she realized that while they had fallen asleep in the same space before, it would be the first time in her actual bed with him. But hey, she had done that all the time with Gwen, who was her best friend, which is practically what Danny was at this point to her. It was totally the same thing. And she didn't dwell too hard on the fact that she automatically labeled this the _first_ time, as if there would be more…


	13. Danny-and-Mindy

**Here is the final chapter! I hope you've enjoyed the story. Please check-out my new story (Six Days, Seven Nights), which hasn't gotten quite as much traffic/reviews thus far as I had hoped.**

It hit Mindy like a ton of bricks. She wasn't sure why she was surprised. She should've known it much earlier and honestly, she probably did know it far longer than she realized. Everyone kept telling her it was right in front of her face, but she couldn't see it. Or maybe she hadn't wanted to see it?

They were Danny-and-Mindy.

She realized it when she overheard a conversation between Jeremy and Betsy. They weren't gossiping or making any insinuations about her relationship with Danny. Rather, they simply were saying their names like it was one word. She remembered how annoyed she had been when everyone kept assuming Jamie-and-Lucy were a couple and she realized that everyone thought of her and Danny this way now. And once this recognition came, she was stunned to also realize that she _wanted _to be Danny-and-Mindy. She didn't want to just be friends. She wanted to be everything with Danny Castellano.

She called Gwen immediately, who laughed and congratulated her on finally catching on to what everyone else had known for months. She checked-in with Betsy to inquire once again about those looks of jealousy displayed by Danny in the club. Out of desperation, she even went to Jeremy for reassurance that he wasn't lying when he said that he thought Danny was interested in her romantically. Everyone told her to say something to him, but she felt frozen. What if he didn't feel the same way? Those words couldn't be unsaid and it could cost her one of the best friendships she ever had. And so she handled this situation with in pure Mindy Lahiri style: avoidance. She called out of work sick, started ignoring Danny's messages, and basically disappeared from the world.

Of course, Danny did not let that stand for more than 3 days. He showed up on her doorstep, banging on her door at 3:00 AM because he figured she would be half-asleep and thus more likely to answer without thinking. She wrenched open the door

"Min, are you mad at me?"

"Well I am now that you interrupted my sleep! And don't call me Min!"

"Why? I thought you liked it when I did that."

"I did. I do! I'm just confused and freaked-out and I know you have no idea what I'm talking about, but I'm trying to work myself into saying something really important. But maybe I shouldn't because maybe I'm crazy and everyone else is crazy and I don't want to ruin this!"

"I love you."

"Because it's like I feel like I ruin every…wait…what?"

She looked into Danny's eyes. They were open and vulnerable and tender all at the same time. He meant every word. Had he been looking at her like this all along? How had she missed this? And had she been looking at him in the same way?

"Why?"

Danny laughed. "Um, because I just do."

"But, Danny, I'm kind-of a disaster as a girlfriend. You should know this. You've seen it."

"Don't care," he said shrugging. "Besides, I think we've both matured this year, don't you?"

Mindy nodded slowly. That was true. Danny reached out, placing his hands on her hips and pulled her closer.

"You know, you totally hijacked my declaration of love."

"Yea, well it was taking too long."

"Jerk."

"_Handsome_ jerk."

"I will never forgive Gwen for that."

"You should. It's the first time I really thought you might not completely hate me."

"Oh my God, you've loved me since then?!"

"I don't know. Honestly, it was probably when you held my hand on the plane. I mean I didn't really _know_ it then, but I think that's probably where it really started, though it was probably coming on before that most likely."

"You almost kissed me after I cut my hair, didn't you? I think I wanted you to, but I didn't realize it until now. Everyone kept telling me that there was something there, but I just didn't believe them. I think I knew I felt more for you than friendship but you've just been so good to me and I didn't want to lose it if you didn't feel the same way."

"Believe me, Mindy. You are everything to me." He stared into her eyes so intently she felt like she both lost herself and saw herself in them at the same time. And this time when he leaned in, she didn't have any questions or confusion about his purpose. He kissed her with such tenderness and passion that she didn't think it was possible until this moment that she could feel this alive.

She pulled back panting from the sheer passion of the kiss and without thinking, she dreamily said, "You're going to marry me, aren't you?"

Her mind began to panic for the briefest moment because she obviously did _not_ mean to say that aloud, but without even faltering, Danny replied, "Yes. Yes, I am," before leaning in for another kiss. This one left her amazingly breathless also. She realized that she never actually got to say what she intended when she began her grand speech. She pulled back slightly, resting one hand on his face and the other on his chest.

"Oh, and I love you too, Danny."

He did propose. 6 weeks later on top of the Empire State Building. It may have sounded fast, but given that they were basically together for the past year without realizing it, it made sense. Absolutely no one was surprised that they ended up together, but Danny made them all pretend their engagement was shocking news because he knew it was important for Mindy to be acknowledged. They even invited Jamie-and-Lucy to the wedding because in the end, they actually kind-of played a similar role in getting them together as Mindy and Danny had played in their relationship. 18 months after their wedding, they became Danny-Mindy-and-Lila. And a few years after that, Jackson joined their family. Looking back, Mindy realized that her 47 days in Haiti didn't have to be a source of embarrassment because in the end, they set the stage for the rest of her life. And every time she caught her husband's eyes across the room as he played swamp monster with their two children, she remembered it was a good life.


End file.
